Monday Open Thread: September 3 is National Welsh Rarebit Day
September 3 is the 246th day of the year; as well as Sweetmorn, Bureaucracy 27, 3184 YOLD
to discordians.
It is 9/3, make of that what you will ...
“Rarebit, n. A Welsh rabbit, in the speech of the humourless, who point out that it is not a rabbit. To whom it may be solemnly explained that the comestible known as toad-in-the-hole is really not a toad, and that 'riz-de-veau a la financiere' is not the smile of a calf prepared after the recipe of a she banker.” -- Ambrose Bierce
Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift, look out kid, ...
On this day in:
301 – San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world's oldest republic still in existence, was founded. All 24 square miles of it is completely surrounded by Italy, near Italy's east coast and roughly on the same latitude as Florence which is more than half again as large and has vastly greater population.
1783 – The American Revolutionary War formally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris by the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain. This widely known fact is, of course, crap, since government of the US pursuant to the Constitution of the US didn't start until 1789, some 6 years later. Nonetheless. the war was ended by said treaty, signed on said date and ratified 1n 1784 by the Congress of the Confederation, sitting pursuant to the then recently enacted Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.
1802 – William Wordsworth composed, on this date, surprisingly enough, the sonnet Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802.
1838 – Future abolitionist Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery.
1855 – 700 US soldiers under General William S. Harney avenged the "Grattan massacre" by attacking a Sioux village and killing 100 men, women and children. The so called "Grattan massacre" occurred when US soldiers who treacherously attacked a Lakota encampment and murdered the Lakota chief at the conclusion of what was supposed to be a peaceful parlay were killed during the Lakota counter attack.
1879 – British envoy Sir Louis Cavagnari and 72 men of the Guides were killed by Afghan troops while defending the British Residency in Kabul. That's Kabul, Afghanistan folks. I wonder if anybody at the DoD is aware of this event?
When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains ...
- Rudyard Kipling -
1935 – Sir Malcolm Campbell drove the Bluebird to a speed of 304.331 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, becoming the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph. He set a new land speed record of 301.337 mph, the average for his two way run, despite getting a flat near the end of his first run. This is an excuse for me to play little bluebird, delow.;-)
1943 – The Allied invasion of Italy begans.
2016 – The U.S. and China, who are together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions, joined the Paris global climate agreement. Of course, nobody really believed that the US would abide by it, and true to form, the US bailed on it on August 4, 2017.
Born this day in:
1596 – Nicola Amati, instrument maker
1695 – Pietro Locatelli, composer and viola player
1710 – Abraham Trembley, biologist and zoologist who engaged in experimental science
1803 – Prudence Crandall, educator and activist
1811 – John Humphrey Noyes, preacher and activist, founder Oneida community
1814 – James Joseph Sylvester, mathematician
1849 – Sarah Orne Jewett, author
1875 – Ferdinand Porsche, engineer
1887 – Frank Christian, trumpet player
1907 – Loren Eiseley, anthropologist and philosopher
1914 – Dixy Lee Ray, biologist and politician
1915 – Memphis Slim, singer, songwriter and pianisst
1925 – Hank Thompson, country singer, songwriter and guitarist
1929 – Whitey Bulger, businessman
1933 – Tompall Glaser, "outlaw" country singer and songwriter
1934 – Freddie King, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1942 – Al Jardine, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1945 – George Biondo, songwriter and bass player
1948 – Don Brewer, drummer, singer, and songwriter
Died this day in:
1658 – Oliver Cromwell, genocidal religio-fascist dictator
1883 – Ivan Turgenev, author and playwright
1942 – Séraphine Louis, painter
1962 – E. E. Cummings, poet
1970 – Alan Wilson, composer, singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player
1980 – Duncan Renaldo, Cisco
2017 – Walter Becker, musician, songwriter and producer.
Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days and such:
National Welsh Rarebit Day (United States)
Pietro Locatello
Memphis Slim
Freddie King
Al Jardine
George Biondo
Don Brewer
Alan Wilson
Duncan Rinaldo
Walter Becker
picture: Bluebird
It's an open thread, so do your thing
Comments
Good morning, el ~~
Ah, sad reminder for me on the one year anniversary of Walter Becker's death. I'm a diehard Steely Dan fan. I've seen them in concert many times. Thanks for Do It Again - loving the tune this early Labor Day morning.
Looks like we're on track for a nice day with possible afternoon showers. Wouldn't that just be the perfect day in these parts? Planting a new tree today. That will be two new ones so far and planning on two Pinon trees in October. Doing our part.
Have a beautiful day, folks!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Good morning, RA. I came to Steely Dan late, though I dug
a couple of their songs before I knew who did them or who the band was, Do it Again was one of them. Glad you enjoyed it.
Pinons would be wonderful, though, for me they would raise the issue of whether or not to try to harvest, shell (murderously difficult, iirc), roast and consume the nutmeats.
I've been working on bringing down a tree. A redbud (actually 2 or 3 of them) in a corner where two fences join. It was planted when we moved in and has grown prodigiously. It is shading far too much of the yard and house and greatly overhanging the yards of adjacent neighbors. the limbs and trunks are very long and tall and have to be brought down to land entirely within our property, essentially straight down pointing vertical and kept up while being sectioned. I figure I might finish by xmas, and then we will plant some sort of more manageable fruit tree (for us) or fruiting bush or shrub (for the critters).
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
good morning y'all
We're off on holiday for a few weeks, so I won't be around the site much. The WW will still post on Sundays thanks to JtC's scheduler. I'll check in every now and then when we have internet service and time.
Have an effortless Labor Day everyone, and enjoy the passing of time.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Have a great time!
Good morning, Lookout, have a great holiday. I join
you in accolades for the scheduler, all of my stuff is done in advance, and a lot of it for days when I will be absent.
Happy "Labor Day"
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Enjoy your vaca!
and stay outta trouble
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Good morning, el and everyone. El, your humor gets
dryer and dryer and is much appreciated. For instance, Whitey Bulger, businessman (and Irish mafia boss), moved back into the Number 1 Most Wanted by the FBI slot after a member of a Seal team assassinated Osama Bin Laden and buried him at sea (supposedly).
To me, the most interesting thing about Whitey is his kid brother Billy Bulger. Billy was an English major undergrad, then got a law degree. He is married (once) with ten children (so, I'm guessing, devout Catholic). He was a member of the Massachusetts State House of Reps for ten years, then a member of the Massachusetts State Senate for 25 years, whereupon Governor Bill Weld (most recently of the Johnson Weld Justice Party ticket) appointed him President of the University of Massachusetts.
After 7 years on that job, Governor Romney un-appointed Billy because Billy had testified that, in 1995, he had arranged to take a call from his brother, Whitey and because the FBI claimed Billy had given inconsistent testimony about his brother. Romney also attempted to take away Billy's pension ($200K a year), after over 40 years of service to the Commonwealth, but the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts prevented that. Can you imagine being the parent or sibling of both Billy and Whitey, during their heydays?
And now, to end any suspense about Welsh Rarebit (or Welsh Rabbit) and/or ris de veau a la financiere, links to the recipes:
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/welsh-rabbit-108892 (fancied up melted cheese on toast)
https://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/469431/calves-sweetbreads-a... (sweetbreads from the thymus gland and pancreas of a baby cow) This is only a list of ingredients and a reference to a book that contains the actual recipe.
A quick google did not yield an English language recipe; and, candidly, I am not motivated to dig, as I have no desire to make this dish, ever. My father was fond of organ meats. Depending on whether he had gone food shopping, opening my childhood fridge could be a horror show of brains, tongues and nads, as though I'd suddenly come upon Victor Frankenstein's laboratory. Once, when angry at my sister and me, he filled the fridge with nothing else. Talk about childhood trauma!
P.S. I'm so glad you found an excuse to introduce me to Little Bluebird, which I loved.
Good morning, HAW, thanks. I always think of those
labeled as "mobster" or "gangster" in the context of folks like Boss Tweed, the Robber Barons, the Coal Barons, historically significant banksters, firms like DOW and Monsanto and the like (businessmen) versus the CIA and Kissinger and such (mobsters) and wind up putting them with the rest of the businessmen, who simply failed to grease enough of the right palms enough.
I was unaware of Billy Bulger, what a kick. Thanks for the rundown.
I was hip to rarebit, cheese toast with a bechamel and moutard, and didn't bother to look into "ris de veaux ...". Your tale regarding organ meats immediately made me think of Finnegan's Wake and Mr. Bloom. Heh.
Glad you liked Little Bluebird, it's a great tune, and Little Milton was a great artist. One of many of Sam Phillips' finds.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Tucker Carlson Pays Lip Service to Income Inequality.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Riinow64_jY]
And then he goes on to pander to Libertarian idiots by saying "But that's not Real Capitalism." What a dumbass. However, Jimmy gets it wrong when he says that it isn't necessarily Capitalism that does this shit. History disagrees with that statement, Jimmy. Right now we are witnessing Capitalism's logical conclusion. Only this time, when it inevitably collapses, it'll make the Great Depression look like a tiny slump by comparison.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Income inequality is bs, anyway.
Wealth inequality, however, is not bs. (Of the many who ran for POTUS in 2016, only Sanders mentioned wealth inequality, though Hillary and others referenced income inequality. BTW, Hillary hired 200 financial advisors to tell her how to talk to us lumpenproletariat about money without scaring her big donors; and they came up with income inequality!)
What will government ever do about income inequality, while politicians mention annual compensation for some of millions per year? Raise the minimum wage by some relatively minuscule amount, probably phased in over several years, so that real wages never keep up with inflation. That's what. The US government is never going to lower, or even cap, what Goldman Sachs or G.E. what it can pay its executives.
Wealth inequality, on the other hand, is addressed by fair taxation, which the US government can easily do--and should. Even that will be only a start, but a start ain't nothing.
Even if they do address anything we'll be right back here
in a decade or two. Maybe three at best. At this point, either Capitalism dies, or humanity dies. And the pigs have already made their choice.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Good morning, Aspie, thanks for the clip, I think. Haven't had
a chance to view it yet. Income inequality is one of the infinitude of things that will not, if done away with, cure racism, and hence cannot be part of any Democratic Party agenda, as I recall the hillbot mantra. Hah. Actually, it probably would help to mitigate the effects a lot, but who am I to impose reality upon the devout.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Happy Birthday Dr. Porsche.
In June of this year a Porsche 919 Evo set a new lap record of 5:19.46 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The 919 Hybrid was Porsche's last Le Mans winner, winning in 2015-17. The Evo version has some modifications that were not allowed under Le Mans rules. The previous Nordschleife record of 6:11.13 had been set in 1983 by a Porsche 956.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k7pKQnynjE&t=162s width:500 height:300]
More Al Jardine:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SruCNOALxTA width:500 height:300]
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Buenos dias, AZ. Thanks for that great pic of the Porsche.
I read something on that victory and record by Porsche, possibly posted or linked by you at the time, or possibly though some other connection. Thanks for keeping us all up to date on such haps. I recall watching the 902s/904s (i think) at Riverside back in the day.
Thanks for the Al Jardine, too. I had extremely little use for the Beach Boys in their heyday, which is still the case, but they were undeniably masters of close harmony.
Have a great day.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
That's a vid, el.
Click it and see the Top 5 iconic Porsche racers. That red #23 917K is, of course, the first overall Le Mans winner for Porsche, 1970.
The secret to the Beach Boys harmonies is that three of them were brothers so their voices all have a similar timbre. The Tigres del Norte enjoy the same effect. Of course, somebody has to write the tunes. Brian Wilson is a genius. Here's Surf's Up from the 1971 album of the same title. This one has personal memories for me, something about graduating high school and peyote-button milkshakes.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyOYQ8qfFng width:400 height:240]
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Thanks, I watched without sound, later on I'll try it again
with sound. Lots of memories there.
Wilson's genius phase was after my time, I suffered through endless airtime for "little deuce coupe", "be true to your school", etc. and some of their early faux surf music like little surfer girl and surf city. I eventually learned that some solon had redefined "surf music" to include it, with surf music now consisting of real surf mustic, classified as surf rock and the Beachboys and a couple of Jan and Dean pieces, classified as Surf POP.
I do know that early on, he and they got a boost form Jan and Dean "this is a studio, those knobs are controls, etc." plus stylistic inspiration (what was then "The California Sound"), and, of course, a minor assist from the Wrecking Crew on some records.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Can’t think of Welsh Rarebit without thinking of Winsor McCay
and his newspaper comic — based on the literary conceit that eating rarebit or other out-of-the-ordinary foods leads one to have horrible nightmares.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dream+rarebit+fiend+winsor+mccay&iax=images&ia...
Good morning, lol. Neither McKay nor "rarebit fiend" rang
amy bells, but looking at the link, I do think I saw a few of those by some fluke of fortune, I'll have to dive in for bit later when I've got some time. Thanks.
Have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good morning, el. Hey, eating cheese prevents death :)
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heart-health/it-s-time-reconsider-low-dai...
Can't get the old engine started this morning and so much to do.
Hoping the smoke has cleared for all you West Coast friends; having a late summer heatwave here.
Have a splendid get-a-way, Lookout.
Cheers, el, for a fun OT and good music as always; happy day.
Hey, Smiley7. I hope everything is up and running now.
Still have smoke alerts on the local news, yesterday and today, but no severe effects. Just walked down to the market and back with no ill effects. Hope the heatwave doesn't get oppressive and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Rich assholes now suing Exxon over Climate Change.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoDtEeT52gE]
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
Is it my phone, or the site? Anyone else?
I'm seeing spinning circles where avatars should be. The more comments, the more spinning circles. 10th comment will have 10 little spinning circles, and 1 eventually turns into the avatar, but the other 9 just keep spinning in unison.
I switched from mobile to desktop view. No help.
I rebooted. No help.
Videos take a very long time to even appear. Just white space where they eventually show up.
Anyone else seeing it? What about mobile users, like tablets or other phones? I'm on an Android. Just started for me today.
Yes, it's all your fault...
Nah, just kidding. The images and videos are now what's called "lazy loading" which means that they wont load until your browser reaches a set distance from the image/video target. Lazy loading helps speed up the page load time especially for folks that have devices with minimum cpu/memory. You don't have to wait for everything on the page to load now because the bandwidth intense elements don't load until you get close to them. I'm still in the process of tweaking them for maximum efficiency.
I'll explain more in a meta essay later.
Danke, JtC
I was thinking I was going to have to break down and buy a new phone.
I still don't understand the deal with the spinning circles, though lol.
I'll check out your post when it's up.
The spinning circles...
are what displays in the image/video placeholder until it loads.
I have it set to load when the browser gets within 100 pixels of the target, I'll change it to 200px, that should help to load it before your browser triggers it.
Basically, what goes up must come down,
spinning wheel got to go round ...
Further explication follows:
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --